Looking for a robust, quiet shop vac

[Randall J Cox]

Ok, been working wood for about 35 years, I have a small shop. Just got serious about all this since I totally retired about 5 years ago. Have a Powermatic dust collection system with 5"metal ducting running all over the ceiling with 5" drops to major tools. Works very well. Also have and use my second Fein shop vac, wore out the first one after about 15 years of use. Great vacs for general shop clean up. Both use cyclones. I have just made room in my garage to spill a couple of machines out into the garage from my shop which is adjacent. One is an old reconditioned DeWalt 10" radial arm saw and the other is a 15" 3 HP 240v Delta planer. I'm looking to use a dedicated shop vac for these two machines only. Its almoust too hard to try and connect them to my present system given the physical configuration. They will be right outside of sliding barn doors that my shop is behind. I'm looking for a decent reasonably-priced shop vac that might be able to handle the planer...and of course if it can handle the planer, then the RAS would be a piece of cake. Know that's a tall order. The quieter the better obviously as my hearing is shot from my USAF career. Any experience and recommendations appreciated... Randy PS and yes I have searched and read articles on the forum on this - know things keep changing too, might be something out there new I didn't know about...….

[Jim Becker]

The machines you propose to service with the shop vac, especially the planer...are not going to get very good extraction service from a shop vac. It cannot move enough air to do the job effectively. For the RAS, it's not unlike trying to collect from a CMS or SCMS...material scatters all over so you need a relatively large hood to get everything as well as what does come off the blade cleanly. RAS might be a little easier because it's less often used for miter cuts than a CMS or SCMS. The planer will produce a prodigious amount of chips and dust and that takes a ton of air volume to move effectively. You'll be better served by a small real dust collector with a short hose with these two tools in your alternative space than with a shop vac.

[Randall J Cox]

Yes I am aware of what the planer produces, having used it with first my Fein, then integrated into my cyclone dust collection system for the last couple of years. I am a hobbyist and don't do production work so if my Fein could "almost" keep up (yes it would clog after a while), I thought maybe one of those 6.5 "peak" hp units with larger hoses might go "long enough" without clogging for my light use. I usually take light cuts also. As I haven't looked at the shop vac market for years, thought there might be some new stuff out there... I do have a hood on the planer with a 4" outlet, and a "collection box" right behind the blade on my RAS with a 4" outlet on the bottom. Since I have moved them out to the garage, haven't used either due to no dust collection. I have a Unisaw and Dewalt 12" chopsaw in my shop serviced with dust collection ductwork so I'm not stressed about this, just wondering if there is anything new on the market or shop vacs (generic) that folks are happy with that might be "good enough".... I was trying to fit something into the small amount of space that I have and at a reasonable cost. Appreciate the comments though. Thanks Randy

[Thomas Canfield]

You might consider using an Onida Dust Deputy cyclone on a larger can ahead of a shop vac. A 10 gal bucket would hold quite a bit of wood dust and chips and avoid overloading the filter, and the cyclone tends to pack the dust/chips more than just the shop vacuum. Problem would still be the amount of air moved and the smaller hoses.

[Bill Dindner]

Not a shop vac, but I use the Rockler Wall Mount dust collector with a cyclone for all my woodworking tools and I’m quite happy with it. It’s not that expensive and it goes on the wall easily out of the way.

[joseph f merz]

at one point when i had just a 12" lunch box planer and 6" joiner i used a shop vac with a barrel in the middle to collect the heaviest shavings .it was a plastic 10gal jug used for olives i believe . i have dust deputy ,they do not do so well with a big volumn but well worth owning . i also have an ebay cyclone for a vacuum that is larger and handles more volumn .i would love to have a bigger vac ,but that is for demo and clean-up in my remodel work .i have one of the big ridged vacs .

[Randall J Cox]

I'm currently using a Oneida Dust Deputy with my Fein, works great for shop clean up. And have an Oneida Super Dust Deputy for my 2 hp central dust collection system, this works well also. My problem is I have room for a shop vac and not much else with my garage set up. I already ran out of room in my shop (I literally had to turn sideways to get through some spots!) and just sold one of my cars to expand into the garage. Maybe I'll go back to drawing board for shop vac with a dust deputy and see if I can fit both in some how...

[Greg Parrish]

Mentioned above one of the wall mount rockler dust rite deals might be your best bet for the expanded area.

[Curt Harms]

I was amazed at how quickly a 12" benchtop planer would fill a 16 gal. shop vac to overflowing. A (too) small dust collector appeared soon after.

[William Hodge]

I use a Rigid shop vac for the top of the ripsaw, the miter saw, the sander, router's etc. When it's running, I barely hear it. It's outdoors, under a shed roof. It has a 55 gallon drum cyclone. The wire runs through conduit to a switch inside. A Rigid vac will last about five years, with daily professional use.Upon retirement, the hoses live on inside the shop, and the bucket becomes another container for off cuts. I wrap the shop vac paper filter with a cloth filter bag. The only thing that gets to the vac is very fine dust. I blow that out once a week outdoors. The paper filter lasts for years.

[Mike Cutler]

Randall

Is there no where that you can access your current DC system with a 4" connection, anywhere.?
You would be better off with 10'-20' of 4" flexible DC hose, than a shop vac for that planer.
It's not a question of being barely able to keep up, or clogging periodically, with a planer, if you use a shop vac. If the material is not removed, it comes back down on to the work surface and your surface quality will suffer. You can also clog up the cutter head, feed, and pressure, roller area to the point that it won't work properly, to say nothing of the actual chip breaker.
There is a minimum limit to the depth of cut on a planer. It's more than simply taking light cuts. The feed and pressure rollers have a minimum pressure they need to exert to move the material through the planer. Too light of a cut and you end up with roller marks on the wood. At least I do.
I once forgot to open the blast gate on my planer, 3HP Jet,and that was one very unhappy machine in just a few minutes. It also took me a bit to get all of the debris out of it.
A 3HP planer needs a DC hookup.

[scott vroom]

I've never fully understood the need or willingness to pay a big premium for lower decibel shop vacs. I've got a very old Craftsman vac hooked to my router table, and a newer Ridgid 1450 attached to my miter saw station that is also used for ROS sanding. Both the router table and miter saw are far louder than the vacs and require hearing protection anyway; I would gain no advantage, at least from the noise perspective, from having a lower decibel (and much more expensive) vac.

[Randall J Cox]

Randall

Is there no where that you can access your current DC system with a 4" connection, anywhere.?
You would be better off with 10'-20' of 4" flexible DC hose, than a shop vac for that planer.
It's not a question of being barely able to keep up, or clogging periodically, with a planer, if you use a shop vac. If the material is not removed, it comes back down on to the work surface and your surface quality will suffer. You can also clog up the cutter head, feed, and pressure, roller area to the point that it won't work properly, to say nothing of the actual chip breaker.
There is a minimum limit to the depth of cut on a planer. It's more than simply taking light cuts. The feed and pressure rollers have a minimum pressure they need to exert to move the material through the planer. Too light of a cut and you end up with roller marks on the wood. At least I do.
I once forgot to open the blast gate on my planer, 3HP Jet,and that was one very unhappy machine in just a few minutes. It also took me a bit to get all of the debris out of it.
A 3HP planer needs a DC hookup.

Mike, after looking at shop vacs, etc ad nauseum and small cyclones and they space they will take and the cost, think you are right. I need to figure out how to hook it up to my central system - won't be easy but probably best solution. I know that the planer produces more sawdust than all the rest, filled up a 30 gallon bucket 3 times in one day not to long ago. And it wasn't a very big project. And the issues with the planer chips not being sucked out is real, know exactly what you are saying. Thanks to all for great comments, I went out to shop and looked at each recommendation for feasibility and cost. Great forum, lots of experience to draw upon and folks willing to comment. Thanks. Randy

[Bill Dufour]

I am not aware of any vacuum that does not require noise protection. Maybe some of the little computer vacs? Any planer or RA require hearing protection dc or not.
Claim is that stay at. home wives tend to have more damage to their hearing then working moms. Because most working moms do not work at noisy jobs while housewives run the vacuum more often. You do know that a home vacuum should only be used with hearing protection . many exercise gyms have the music too loud for OSHA employees.
Apple stores got in trouble with OSHA for too loud of background music? I wonder how loud their factories are that they have to have anti-suicide barriers.
Bill D.

[John Goodin]

Besides the Rockler wall mount, there is a version of the same DC on small casters -- very portable. I bought mine from Grizzly for less than $200. About the size of a five gallon bucket it can be hooked up with a flex hose in just a few seconds.

[Rod Sheridan]

I've never fully understood the need or willingness to pay a big premium for lower decibel shop vacs. I've got a very old Craftsman vac hooked to my router table, and a newer Ridgid 1450 attached to my miter saw station that is also used for ROS sanding. Both the router table and miter saw are far louder than the vacs and require hearing protection anyway; I would gain no advantage, at least from the noise perspective, from having a lower decibel (and much more expensive) vac.

That's true Scott, however for me I don't use a router so I use my Festool vac with a ROS or other sander, or for cleaning the shop and work pieces prior to finishing. The low noise is a big plus for me, and for anyone in the living room above me.....Rod.